7/9/07 Home Run Derby: 7:00 PM Central

[rluzinski]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a345/rluzinski/hdr_hrd_581.gif

 

MLB.com Home Run Derby Coverage

 

CONTESTANTS:

 [b]NL[/b] [b]Player Team HR [url=http://www.bodog.com/sports-betting/mlb-baseball-player-props.jsp]Odds[/url] R1 SEM FIN[/b] [b]<span style="color:blue;">Prince Fielder Brewers 29 3/1 3</span>[/b] Ryan Howard Phillies 21 2/1 3 Albert Pujols Cardinals 16 7/2 <span style="color:red;">4*</span> 9 Matt Holliday Rockies 15 9/1 <span style="color:red;">5</span> 8 [b]AL[/b] [b]Player Team HR Odds R1 SEM FIN[/b] Justin Morneau Twins 24 6/1 4 Alex Rios Blue Jays 17 12/1 <span style="color:red;">5 12</span> 2 Vlad Guerrero Angels 14 6/1 <span style="color:red;">5 9 3</span> Magglio Ordonez Tigers 13 10/1 2

 

* Won swing off to advance

 

RULES:

 

Opening Round

? Each player gets 10 outs to hit as many home runs as possible.

? The four players with the most home runs hit in the Opening Round advance to the Semi-Final Round.

 

Semi-Final Round

? Home runs totals from the first round will carry over to the second round.

? Each player gets 10 outs to hit as many home runs as possible per at bat.

? The two players with the most home runs in the Semi-Final Round advance to the Championship Round.

 

Championship Round

? Home runs from the first two rounds do not carry over to the Championship Round; Opening and Semi-Final Round totals are cleared from the board.

? Each player gets 10 outs to hit as many home runs as possible.

? The player who hits the most home runs in the Championship Round is declared the CENTURY 21 Home Run Derby champion.

 

Note

? An out is registered when a player swings at a pitch and does not hit a home run.

? A ball hit over the fence must be fair to count as a home run.

? If two or more players are tied for advancement into the next round, or for the Derby championship, a swing-off will determine who advances. Each player will get five swings; if they are still tied after five swings, they will hit again but get only three swings. Process will be repeated if necessary with three swings each until one player wins the swing-off.

 

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Good luck, Prince!

 

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[patrickgpe]

some predictions;

 

round 1 leaders; Morneau, Howard, Fielder, Ordonez

round 2 leaders; Howard, Fielder

champ: Howard

[rluzinski]

They are going to be hard pressed to find a replacement for Cabrera this late.

 

I think Prince might press a bit and wear himself out early. I don't see him getting past the second round.

[Menotti80]

With 7/8 decided, these are my current Predictions:

 

After R1:

Prince 9

Howard 8

Pujols 9

Morneau 7

Maggs 12

Rios 4

Vlad 9

 

After R2:

Prince: 14

Pujols: 18

Maggs: 19

Vlad: 15

 

R3:

PUJOLS: 7

Maggs: 6

[patrickgpe]

let JJ in, i'm sure he'd do it. Its disappointing that the top hr hitters won't do it. It be cool to see AROD and Prince going toe to to. Was Dunn ever invited?

[rluzinski]

Quote:

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Now that he is participating, Fielder isn't putting any pressure on himself to come out on top.

 

"I don't really care if I win, I just want to hit one," Fielder said. "I don't want to go home with a goose egg, [but] I'm pretty sure I can just hit one."

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LINK

 

Good attitude.

[patrickgpe]

that is a good attutude, he should hit more than one, but I wouldn't want him to mess up his swing or get hurt for something like this.

[BillScottCanRake]

Semi-Final Round

? Home runs totals from the first round will carry over to the second round.

? Each player gets 10 outs to hit as many home runs as possible per at bat.

? The two players with the most home runs in the Semi-Final Round advance to the Championship Round.

 

I haven't watched one of these in years (maybe going back to when Burnitz was in it) so I don't know the rules. But the two bolded items seem contradictory to me unless the the last one isn't right. Should that read "The two players with the most home runs after the Semi-Final Round advance to the Championship Round"? Or do only the home runs hit in the second round count towards moving on to the third?

[rluzinski]

Maybe they just mean that since the home run totals from the first round were "carried over", they become part of the semi-round? Not a very good explanation, no matter what they meant.

[patrickgpe]

looks like Matt Holiday will be #8

[pitchleague]

It's good to see they got rid of that USA vs. the World thing they had a few years back in the derby. I still remember Hee-Seop Choi in the HR derby; what a disaster that was. I want to say that was also the year Bret Boone swung and missed on a pitch and finished with zero.

[Menotti80]

good. i'll be keeping my eye on him tonight and tomorrow night to see if he is in fact deserving of the first half NL MVP award that Jayson Stark gave him yesterday...

[patrickgpe]

that was completely dumb. I remember Bay representing Canada and laying a goose egg. The worst part of that was only one US born hitter could be in it. I understand it was done to generate interest for the WBC, but it ruined the derby.

[Schlitz001]

JJ already said he wouldn't do it. I would like to see Matt Holliday.

 

I'll be the first to pick Morneau to win it.

[patrickgpe]

you got your wish, holiday is in.

[Menotti80]

1st round totals carry over to round 2. the 2 guys with the most HR's in R1 and R2 combined makes the finals.

 

Last year, David Wright hit like 16 in round 1, but only had 2 in round 2. in previous years, his big total from rd 1 wouldn't have put him into the finals. Howard was 1 out away in the first round from being eliminated, but he hit like 4 in a row to barely make it to round 2. a huge round two put him in the finals.

 

I like this format, because I think it gives a guy like Prince a better chance of making it to the finals...

[rluzinski]

I like this format, because I think it gives a guy like Prince a better chance of making it to the finals...

 

And it doesn't compel competitors to say "good enough" in round 1 and try and save some for round 2.

[bucks2281]

I would have liked to see Soriano compete in the derby. Yeah, I know he's a Cub, but I love his swing, and seeing it in the derby would be a thing of beauty.

[Lil Dummy]

"And it doesn't compel competitors to say "good enough" in round 1 and try and save some for round 2."

 

If it's like last year, they won't even be able to quit while they're ahead after Round 2. The "10th out" last year in the 2nd round was some sort of a moneyball, with every HR hit with it paying like $100k to charity. I guess Howard could have stopped after he wrapped up the spot in the finals, but he would have looked like a jerk. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[KRM17]

What's the over/under of homeruns Prince puts into the water?

[Mike2k33]

I think it'll be either Morneau or Howard. Prince has a great chance as well, but I don't want to jinx him. I think it will certainly be a lefty who wins.

[pitchleague]

I really enjoyed this Stark article about the derby.

 

Jayson Stark Derby article

[brettac1]

Some of that stuff makes sense.

 

But - fines for guys who don't want to do it?

[Bruce Ciskie]

Quote:

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But - fines for guys who don't want to do it?

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I think most of the major sports have bounced around ideas on dealing with the "no one plays in the All-Star Game or takes part in the pre-All Star stuff" issue.

 

I don't like the idea of fining guys who don't take part, but I don't like the way the Derby is going right now. As much as I don't like him, I would kill to see Bonds in this thing, and I'd love to see Griffey do it considering the year he's having.

 

I think the major issues are pretty well laid out by Stark, who's one of the best on the planet. As long as he's around, I don't feel so uneasy about the day Gammons decides to walk away.

 

Frankly, I'd love to see baseball find incentive for guys to take part in the Derby. It's good for the game. It would be better for the game if they'd find a way to shorten the stupid thing, because right now it runs ENTIRELY too long.

 

Good luck, Prince!

[rwa12]

I'm fairly certain Dusty Baker is dressed for the 1976 Senior Prom. I didn't know that they actually made baby blue suits anymore. Apparently his horrible decision making isn't exclusive to pitch counts.